Salah, Mbappe and Vinicius form a dream front line

“Even when you are under pressure for results, you should never forget the concept of satisfaction,” Kylian Mbappe once thought. “You pay to see a spectacle and there are some players who are worth the price of the ticket.”

The jet-heeled French certainly fits the times. Alongside his Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior and Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah, this top three have produced a must-have magical spectacle so routinely that they have been included in the front line of EA FC 25Team of the Year.

Here's how these three-star attractions rose above all their peers.

Salah's inclusion raised some eyebrows. There is no doubt that the Liverpool striker in the successful start of the 2024/25 season has scored even more goals than secretive barbs about his expiring contract.

However, this is a calendar year price and Salah suffered a slow finish to the 2023/24 campaign as he nursed a serious hamstring injury sustained on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.

However, Salah's blistering form over the final five months of 2024 is enough to erase memories of January through May. As Arne Slot gushed at the end of the year: “We didn't know Mo Salah could get any better, but somehow he has!”

Kylian Mbappe's first half of 2024 was spent making an extended farewell to Paris Saint-Germain. The club's all-time leading goalscorer eventually sealed his much-hyped move to Real Madrid in the summer, fulfilling a childhood dream that had existed since a family friend gave him a model of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Mbappe brought that replica to the field at his unveiling in July.

The disruptive Frenchman marked his debut with a goal in a triumphant UEFA Super Cup final but struggled to feel his way into a team that were already Spanish and European champions. By the time Mbappe scored in his second final for Madrid, helping the club to victory Inauguration of the Intercontinental Cup in December, the new number nine was set.

It would be easier to list what Vinicius Junior didn't achieve in 2024. The Brazilian sensation couldn't cure cancer, he didn't manage to go more than three consecutive games without scoring a goal, and he clearly didn't condone vile racist abuse. he takes over.

Vinicius may have lost the Ballon d'Or. an extremely narrow margin – but was crowned FIFA Men's Player of the Year. Even more fittingly, in what remains a team sport, Vinicius helped Madrid win a rare double of La Liga and the Champions League – scoring in the European final by beating a challenger. Borussia Dortmund.

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